These gourmet sandwich recipes are perfect for beach parties or anytime!
You might think of grilling or simple finger food when you think of beach recipes. And there's nothing wrong with either of those options. But sometimes you want something a little more gourmet, without being snooty or hard to prepare. That's why I came up with two gourmet sandwich recipes that also happen to be easy, because they use some of the same ingredients.
By using quality bread and meats, plus a few store-bought accompaniments, these beach picnic sandwich recipes are elevated above the level of simple beach party food to something your guests will always remember. As a bonus, they're full of healthy ingredients that will give your guests plenty of energy to run around on the beach and play in the ocean.
Gourmet Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Sauce
Makes one sandwich (multiply by the number of guests)- 1 good medium-sized quality crusty French bread baguette
- 4-6 slices of deli roast beef
- 2-4 tomato slices
- 4 cucumber slices
- 6 slices of yellow, white or red onion
- 1-2 lettuce leaves
- Rothschild horseradish sauce (You can use any horseradish sauce, or a combination of mayonnaise and horseradish, but I've found this brand really goes well with roast beef and will make the sandwich special.)
- Cut baguette lengthwise, open it up and toast lightly so the horseradish sauce doesn't sink into the bread.
- Wash the tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce and dry them thoroughly.
- Slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick and place on paper towels for a few minutes to absorb any excess moisture that might make the sandwiches soggy. Don't leave them on the towels so long that they dry out though.
- Slice the cucumbers about 1/8" thick.
- Slice the onions thinly.
- Tear the lettuce leaves to fit the width of the baguette.
- Spread the horseradish sauce on both sides of the baguette.
- Place the roast beef on the baguette and assemble the rest of the ingredients on top of it.
- For best results, wrap the sandwich in aluminum foil or Glad Press'n Seal. (I use this all the time in my kitchen. It's great for keeping sandwiches fresh.)
Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich with Garlic Mayo
Makes one sandwich (multiply by the number of guests)- 3 slices of good quality whole wheat bread, sliced medium-thick
- 2 boneless chicken breast halves
- 4 slices of bacon (optional)
- 8 tomato slices
- 8 cucumber slices
- 6 slices of yellow, white or red onion
- 2 lettuce leaves
- 1 small clove of garlic
- A dash of olive oil
- 3-4 Tbs mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper
- Preheat a toaster oven or regular oven to 200 degrees. Slice the garlic lengthwise, about 1/8" thick. Tear off a piece of aluminum foil large enough to accommodate the garlic you'll need for the number of sandwiches you're making (1 small clove for each sandwich) and place the garlic in the center. Coat the garlic with enough olive oil to cover it with a little left over. Fold two ends of aluminum foil over so they overlap and then seal the other edges by folding them in too. Place in the toaster oven or regular oven and roast until golden brown. You can safely leave just about any amount of garlic in place at 200 degrees for the first 15 minutes, but then you should check it every five minutes or so until the edges are golden brown and the middles of the pieces are still off-white. Once browned, take out the foil and allow it to cool. When it's cool, gently mash the garlic with a fork.
- Toast the bread slices lightly.
- Mix approximately 3-4 Tbs mayonnaise for every garlic clove, or to taste. You may also want to add a little salt, pepper and/or hot sauce.
- Once the bread has cooled from being toasted, spread approximately 1-1/2 to 2 Tbs of the mayo/garlic spread on one side of the 3 pieces that will be used for each sandwich.
- Fry the bacon (optional) and cool on enough paper towels to absorb the grease.
- Wash the chicken breasts well and pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper on each side.
- Grill the breasts using a George Foreman grill (this makes things very easy), a stove-top grill pan or a BBQ grill. Cook until the breasts' internal temperatures reach 165 degrees and set aside on paper towels to cool.
- While the chicken breasts cool off, wash the tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce leaves.
- Slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick and place on paper towels for a few minutes to absorb any excess moisture that might make the sandwiches soggy. Don't leave them on the towels so long that they dry out though.
- Slice the cucumbers about 1/8" thick.
- Slice the onions thinly.
- Tear the lettuce leaves to fit the width of the bread.
- Stack a lettuce leaf or two on the bottom piece of bread, then a chicken breast, then 4 tomatoes and 4 cucumbers. You can also add the bacon if you've chosen to use it.
- Add the second piece of bread and repeat step 13, top with the third piece of bread.
- Wrap the same as the roast beef sandwiches in the previous recipe.
I hope you enjoy making these gourmet beach sandwich recipes and that your guests enjoy eating them!
Credits: Thanks to Ove Tøpfer of Blog.Pixelmaster.no for the roast beef sandwich, grilled chicken sandwich and basket of food; to Rob Owen-Wahl of Web Design Chichester for the onion image and to Pascal Thauvin for the baguette image.
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OMG!!! My mouth is watering Carla!! My family would love the grilled chicken one.
ReplyDeleteThe gourmet roast beef sandwich looks great. I love the veggie add ons (cucumber, tomato, onion, lettuce). This would work well without the roast beef as a veggie sandwich too!
ReplyDeleteLove the roast beef and horsey sandwich, nice job!
ReplyDelete